Compac Swiss

test indicators and dial indicators

World famous Compac dial indicators, Compac test indicators and Compac dial bore gages are the finest Swiss-made measuring instruments available. These gages have all the features which have made Compac so desirable: durability, long life, and accuracy in which every machinist concerned with performance should invest. Since the 1940's these Compac indicators have been the best quality available.

Initially an independent Swiss company, Tesa Division of Hexagon Metrology is the current manufacturer of these tools.

In 2005 they took the step of reducing the number of inch-reading models in their catalog and focusing on the metric. Some of their previous inch models are now sold under the Mercer name.

In late 2010 they relocated their manufacturing facility in Switzerland and during this transition many models were temporarily unavailable.

Production resumed in late 2013 when, we were told, fabrication was returned to their facility in Renens on Lake Geneva. More indicator models were made redundant. The Compac dial bore gages were removed from production in 2015.

Virtually all Compac models were discontinued in 2020 but due to customer demand, the metric models are once again available as of 2023.

A brief history of Compac indicators

In the 1950-60's Compac of Geneva, Switzerland, manufactured the best selling indicator and dial bore gage imports in the United States. These models were sold with the name Alina. They were so well built and such favorites of machinists of the time that, even today, we receive these indicators for repair. In Europe the indicators were sold with the name Parvus. In a misguided effort to build a sturdier gage, the manufacturer changed the models to clinkers that had all the grace of a bread box. These were the short lived IXL series.

Just a few years later, they introduced the current Compac models. They have had minor changes in the past 10 years but nothing that affected the over-all look or performance. The Compac indicator is designed to last: sturdier than the Bestest and less costly than the Interapid. It fits perfectly in-between. They are also marketed in the UK with the name Mercer. For several years they were sold in the USA with the name SPI.

Tesa of Renens, Switzerland, was the manufacturer of Compac indicators as well as Bestest, Tesatast and Interapid indicators.

Q:

I came across an indicator that I cannot find mentioned on your website. It is an EITEL JET 513 AK with .5" travel and .0005" graduations. It is in a box that says Compac Geneve but I am unsure if that is the original box. If Compac did make it then I am thrilled. Can you tell me anything about this?

• Yes, these were made by Compac (Geneva). They were introduced as an economy model when Mitutoyo first began selling their inexpensive Japanese gages around 1960. The Swiss saw this as a threat to their position as the number one import and the “JET” indicator was the result. It was designed as a throw-away and parts were not generally made available for repair purposes. They remained in production for about 25 years and then the Chinese joined the game, making even these economy gages look expensive. Compac has now had to discontinue most of their inch reading gages due to competition.